Transitioning
by springchild
Summary: Sequel to "Change". What happens after Jim and Pam confess how they really feel?
1. Chapter 1

_I'll admit it, I just couldn't stay away..._

Ordinarily, she wouldn't have said it so soon. When she was first dating Roy, she hadn't told him she loved him for months. She still remembered it clearly. He had taken her to the classiest restaurant she had ever been to. They had eaten authentic Italian food staring at a gorgeous view of the park. Afterwards, they had gone back to his place and sat snuggled together watching old Molly Ringwald movies (her pick, though he didn't seem to mind). When he had dropped her off at her place that night, giving her a quick kiss full of emotion, she had told him. Just thinking about it now brought a stab of pain to her chest. "I'm gonna have to get used to that," she thought with a frown.

It had just felt right with Jim. Even though they were only friends, she found that she truly meant what she had said, maybe even more than she had with Roy. Or maybe that was just because she was so vulnerable right now. He had said it back, though. That was something. But what if he had just said it to avoid hurting her feelings?

These thoughts went through her head over and over again, fighting with each other, as she lay in bed that night; well, late afternoon was more accurate. After the exchange, they had sat for a little while longer, neither saying anything. After about ten minutes, Pam had looked up from Jim's shoulder and the silence became even more profound. Then Pam surprised even herself by smiling. Jim returned the smile, a little hesitant.

"Jim, I…" She stopped. She didn't really know what she should say. He didn't help her, simply returning her gaze.

She decided to try again, this time taking a slow, deep breath before beginning. "I think I need some time. You know, to sort some things out? I just…it's too soon."

She didn't know what she had expected, but what he did surprised her. He smiled again, this time more fully and said, "Pam, that's fine. More than fine. Take all the time you need. Just remember, I'm here if you want to talk."

"It's just, I need some time to think, you know? Everything's happened so fast and I haven't really had time to process any of it…"

He cut her off, "Pam! It's okay, really. You don't have to justify yourself to me. I don't think I'd trust it if you said you were ready to jump into anything right away."

After a few more minutes of talking, they decided to remain friends; for the time being, at least. Jim listened, really listened and was more understanding than she would have expected. He talked her into going to dinner with him the next night so that she could talk things through some more. She agreed only because her mom was so far away, she wouldn't be able to take a drive to see her until the weekend and the phone just wasn't good enough for this kind of thing. Her only condition was that they went somewhere cheap, preferably a fast food place. More than that and she would have felt like she was on a date and she didn't think she could handle that, not yet. He agreed with a condition of her own; a condition that truly surprised her.

"Let's not tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Ummm, yeah. Okay."

He explained, "It's just, people talk. I know it and I know that you know it. People are going to find out that you and Roy are over soon enough," he immediately regretted his choice of words when she winced, "Sorry. They're going to find out, though, and if they hear about the two of us going to dinner…it just won't turn out well. They'll talk. Phyllis, Kelly..." He added after slight hesitation, "Michael. I just don't want you to have to deal with that right now."

She agreed. She didn't really need to be convinced. He was right, people would talk and while she had been able to ignore it before, there would be an undeniable truth to it now and she couldn't handle that yet.

They got up then. They walked down the remaining steps in silence, neither able to think of anything to say. They hugged once more, quickly this time with minimal touching, and said good-bye.

Now Pam lay in her bed, reliving the day for the dozenth time since she had been home. Walking in had been awkward. She and Roy were still living in the same apartment; her without anywhere else to stay and him in hopes of being able to patch things up. He had spent the previous night on the couch. Neither had said much to the other since the night before, though they were still being civil to each other. Today, she had come home and gone straight to the bedroom where she planned to stay the rest of the night.

"How am I going to make it through tomorrow?" she thought before replaying the day to herself one more time…

_I hope you guys like this. Again, please review. Good, bad, let me know. They kept me going last time and they'll keep me going this time. Until next time, enjoy yourselves!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to update, it's been kind of a busy couple of weeks. Anway, I hope you like it. As always, I love reviews but even if you don't review, I hope you like it! Hopefully the next chapter will be posted sometime this week._

Work the following day was painfully slow. People were still going out of their way to leave Pam alone and even Jim didn't visit her as much as he usually did. She knew it was just because he didn't want people to suspect anything but it was still hard. Really, why would people suspect anything? It would be no different than things had always been. They should be more suspicious by the fact that he did seem to be avoiding her.

As much as it pained her to admit it, she knew Jim was right. Things were different. She was no longer engaged, meaning the jokes people used to make could actually be true. It was only a matter of time before people (Kelly most likely) started making comments anyway, why spur them on? She really hoped that by the time the stories did start to spread, she would be ready for them.

She and Jim had decided that they would go straight to dinner after work. She hadn't wanted to go home first; it would have been too awkward explaining to Roy where she was going. They decided to take separate cars (again, her idea) to avoid the feeling of a date and meet at Burger King. He agreed to all of these conditions simply to please her, she knew. He wanted to make her as comfortable as possible in hopes that she would open up and just knowing this, she knew she had made the right choice leaving Roy.

At five that afternoon, Jim packed up his stuff, rose from his desk and said, "Night, Beesly. See you tomorrow." With that, he gave her a quick wink and walked out the door.

Pam waited for a few more people to leave before leaving herself. When she got into her car, she took a few deep breaths before starting it, trying to calm herself down. Though she had been looking forward to dinner all day, she knew it was going to be really hard. He was going to want to know what had happened, to talk about her feelings. She wanted to tell him, but that didn't mean it was going to be easy. It had to happen at some point, though. Might as well get it over with.

When she arrived at Burger King, he was already there, waiting for her in the parking lot. "Took you long enough," he said, the smirk she knew so well plastered on his face.

"Yeah well, I didn't want anyone thinking there was any funny business going on here." Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. It was amazing how he always seemed to know how to make things light and easy between them.

They walked in together, him holding the door open for her, and ordered. They didn't say much as they stood around waiting for their food and things didn't change much when they sat down in a corner booth with their food. Instead of speaking, he simply stared into her eyes, clearly waiting for her to start the conversation. She didn't return his gaze, looking intently at her food as she ate it until finally it was too much.

"So…how was your day? I didn't see much of you."

"Things were pretty good today. Busy. How about you?"

"Eh, not too bad, I guess. Lonely. People seem to be avoiding me, like I have some highly contagious disease. I'm surprised Dwight hasn't quarantined me yet."

"Don't take it personally, Pam. People are just being safe. They don't know how to act around you. To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure myself."

"That's ridiculous, though! I mean, I'm not a different person. I'm just…well, okay. I guess I can see why people are having trouble with this. I don't know if I would know how to act either. It's just…I'm at the point where I want to talk to someone about this. My mom is so far away and so the only person I've been able to discuss things with is myself. As you can imagine, I haven't come to too many new conclusions this way," she gave a weak chuckle as she said this last.

"And that's why I'm here. I want to help you with this. I don't know where to start, though. That's why you have to do it."

She took a deep breath before starting, trying to gather her thoughts. "Okay, well, I guess I've known for awhile that Roy and I weren't right for each other. I was just afraid of what would happen if I left him. I mean, he's all I've known for so long. I wasn't sure I would be able to start over again, you know?"

"Uhhh, no. Not really. Pam, I can't even imagine how hard this has all been for you."

"It has been. Really, really hard. And the worst part is that Roy and I are still living in the same apartment. I mean, it's only been a couple of days, but it's a small apartment and," she paused, trying to get up the courage to finish the sentence. She wasn't sure of how Jim would react and it frightened her. "…and I think Roy is still hoping to get back together."

His face remained perfectly composed as he asked, "Do you want to get back together with him?"

"You know I don't. It's just hard seeing him everyday. Sharing a bathroom with him. I feel so guilty when I see him sleeping on the couch in the morning. I've been so unfair to him; crushed him and he's the one sleeping on the couch!"

Jim was silent for a minute, slowly chewing his burger. He wasn't sure how to respond to this. What did she want to hear? He decided to steer the conversation down a new path, "Maybe it's time for you to get out of there. If he won't, I mean."

"No. He's leaving. He told me this morning. His brother agreed to take him in for awhile starting this weekend. It's only Wednesday, though! I've still got two more days of living with him!"

He wanted to offer her a room at his place, but didn't know if that would be the best idea. Still, looking at her as she silently contemplated what the next couple of days would be like, he couldn't help himself. "Pam, if you want, you're welcome to stay at my place. I mean, we don't have any extra rooms, but the couch folds out into a bed and I'm sure Mark wouldn't mind…" he let his voice trail off as she looked at him, turning bright red.

"No, no, Jim. I couldn't…I wouldn't want to be a bother. It's only two days. We both work during the days and sleep at nights. I'm sure I won't even see him that much."

He could tell she was just grasping at straws but he decided to let it go after seeing how uncomfortable the idea had made her. It kind of hurt to know that had the offer been from Angela instead of him, she probably would have accepted. It wasn't fair that just because he was a guy…well, no. That wasn't exactly true. It was more than that. _He_ was more than that, or at least he hoped to be. The way to start that wouldn't be living together.

"Anyway," she continued, "I'm sure things will be better once he moves out. He's just been so…nice, lately. He's done more chores around the apartment these past two days than he has in two years! I'm just afraid that he thinks there's a chance to get back together and even worse, I'm afraid that it might actually work. I mean, I'm not stupid. I know it wouldn't last. Still though, it's tempting. I mean, he already knows everything about me and I know everything about him and it just seems like it wouldn't be that bad. Honestly, if I didn't have you," at this she looked him in the eyes and a small grin appeared on her face, "I don't know what I would do."

He could feel himself blushing slightly at her confession. "But you do have me. I'm going to get you through this, Pam. Roy will move out and then you'll be able to move on, I promise. It's going to be hard at first, but it will get easier."

"You think so?"

"I really do! And any time you want to talk, just call me."

"You're a good friend, Jim."

He felt his heart sink a little at the use of the word friend and immediately felt guilty. "Come on, man. Pull yourself together," he thought. "She's been single for less than a week and you're already expecting a commitment from her? Just give her some time."

Out loud he said, "I try, Beesly."

What followed was a few minutes of silence while the two finished their meals.

"It was our trip on Saturday that finally convinced me to leave him."

She said this with such force and surety that he almost choked on his drink. All he could manage to say was, "Excuse me?"

"It's true. I mean, like I said, I think I've known for awhile. But it was subconscious. Spending the day with you…I don't know. It kind of brought it to the front of my mind. I had so much fun that day and everything was just so easy. I didn't have to think about what I said before I said it, it just came out easily. I haven't laughed that hard in months."

"That's not really fair; I was tickling you."

"No," she said, laughing now, "I mean in general. The joking, the talking, everything was just so great. And even though I wasn't sure at the time if you felt the same way about me, I just knew I couldn't stay with Roy any more."

Jim didn't know what to say. Of course he had always loved Pam; it was nice to know now that she felt the same about him. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds before deciding that they should probably each head home. They each said good-bye and then Pam drove home. Jim sat in the parking lot for a few minutes. He was pretty sure that he hadn't been this happy in a long time.

When Pam got home, Roy was laying on the couch watching TV. A quick glance into the kitchen showed that the counters had been wiped clean and the dishes were washed and dried.

"Where have you been?" He didn't sound angry like he might have in the past. It was almost like he sounded resigned to whatever her answer would be.

"I, uh, had dinner plans with a friend." She didn't want to say it had been with Jim. Chances were he already knew.

"Oh, okay. So you've already eaten then?"

"Yeah, sorry. I could make you something if you want."

"No, that's okay." Throughout the whole conversation, he had never looked at her. It wasn't that he was ignoring her, as he used to. He was depressed.

"Okay. I'm going to head to bed. Good night."

"Night."

She hurried to her room even though it was only seven. She couldn't let herself feel guilty. She wouldn't let her good mood be ruined by him. Not anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to update this story. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I wasn't entirely sure where I was taking the story. I think this chapter is pretty good, though, so I hope everyone enjoys it. Please review and let me know what you think. _:)

_As usual, I own nothing._

Jim walked in the following morning to see Pam on the phone at her desk with a client. He was slightly frustrated by this because he really needed to talk with her. He had decided the night before that he was going to ask her to dinner for that night using the excuse that he didn't want her to spend any more time around her apartment and Roy than she absolutely had to. While this was true, his main motive was just to spend time with the woman he was sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Then Pam glanced up at him and all of his frustration melted away as she smiled. He sat down at his desk and immediately started to instant message her.

_Hey Pam. Just wanted to see if maybe you wanted to grab a bite to eat after work again._

Index finger hovering over the 'Enter' key, he suddenly decided to wait to ask her until after he had been there for awhile. After all, he didn't want to seem needy.

A little after noon, he walked up to her desk. "Hey, Pam. Haven't really had a chance to talk to you today. How's it going?"

"Eh, fine I guess. Phones have been going crazy, though."

"Well, I was just going to go grab something to eat from the break room. Care to join me?"

"Sure! Just let me set everything to voicemail."

She followed him to the break room, where only Kevin was sitting. A quick glance at the paper he was reading showed Jim that he was reading the personal ads. For a brief instant, he felt a stab of pity towards his friend. That was soon overshadowed by the almost giddy feeling he got when he saw Pam sitting across the table from him.

"So, how's your day been so far," she asked.

"Same old, same old. Mostly been messing with Dwight all day. Apparently, he missed the new Battlestar Galactica last night so I've been looking up summaries online and randomly dropping little bits into conversation."

She laughed at this and the sound made his heart flutter. "Oh man. What does he do?"

"Not much at first. I think he figured I was making stuff up or that the names I was using must be a coincidence. After about the third spoiler, though, he started to catch on to the fact that what I was saying was following the story line and he started getting mad. Finally he threatened to tell Michael that I was interfering with his productivity. I stopped shortly after that."

"You don't think Michael would do anything, do you?"

"No. The summaries weren't that long, though," he smirked.

They spent the rest of their break talking easily, neither mentioning the break-up or the previous night. By the time they had to go back to work, Jim was feeling incredibly anxious. He hadn't asked her to dinner yet. He didn't know why he was so nervous; he had a perfectly good reason to want to take her out and it wasn't like he was going to call it a date or anything. Still, it was her and he was still very self-conscious about what he did around her.

He waited until almost three o'clock before opening the IM window again. After staring at the blinking cursor for what felt like ten minutes, he finally decided to keep it simple, typing:

_Want to go out to dinner again tonight?_

With an incredible amount of self control, he kept himself from looking towards her desk to see her reaction. He desperately wanted to know if she would be happy or think that he was taking things too fast. Maybe she just wanted her space…

_That would be awesome. Same deal as last night?_

Her fast response lifted the weight from his chest and he could feel himself grinning and then breaking into a full smile despite the fact that he was trying to control his emotions.

_It's up to you. We can do the same thing. Otherwise, I was thinking somewhere a little less fast foody than Burger King._

_What's wrong with Burger King?_

He couldn't help it. He needed to see if she was being serious and was actually upset by his remark or if she was merely playing him. When he looked in her direction, she was trying to look at him with a serious face, which was quickly replaced by a smile.

_Well, nothing I guess. I just figured we could switch things up tonight. _

_Okay. I think we should still take separate cars, though. I'll follow you._

_It's a deal._

That had been a close one. He had started typing "It's a date" and caught himself right before sending it.

They left in the same manner as they had the night before, with him leaving first with a quick "good night" and her following a few minutes later. The only difference was that when she arrived in the parking lot, he was waiting in his car. He had been fidgeting with his radio, waiting for her to come out. They exchanged a quick glance and she got into her car and started it. When he saw that she was ready, he pulled out of the lot, her following close behind. No one else had been in the parking lot at the time, so there was no danger of anyone suspecting anything. He led her to an Applebee's and waited for her to join him in the parking lot.

"What do you think," he asked her.

"It's good. They have great food here."

They went in and were immediately seated at a table towards the rear of the restaurant.

After they placed their orders, he started talking to avoid any awkward silences, "So, how was the rest of your day?"

"Pretty good, actually! People seem to be talking to me more, which is nice. Michael even tried to set me up with Ryan. At least, I think that's what he was doing. He asked me what I was doing tonight and then when I told him I didn't have plans, he walked straight to Ryan's desk and I heard him mutter something about "getting a chance to hit that" or something. It was actually kind of funny, Ryan avoided me the rest of the day after that."

Jim offered a slight chuckle at this, but in fact he was kind of upset. He didn't like the idea of Pam being with anyone else and he really wasn't happy that Michael was trying to set her up so soon after she had broken up with Roy. It was tacky. He was snapped out of his inner rantings when she continued.

"I also managed to make a Battlestar Galactica reference to Dwight. He came up to my desk to ask if I needed him to "take care of anything" for me, whatever that means. I kind of felt bad afterwards because I think he was actually trying to be nice but I just couldn't help it."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you," he said while laughing. "It's a safe bet that he's got it coming."

While they ate, their conversation stayed on superficial things. People at work, family and at one point, what they would each do if Dunder Mifflin closed down. Finally, Jim turned the conversation gently to her current situation.

"How was Roy last night?"

He saw her grin falter at the question but she answered right away, "He seemed okay. I didn't really see much of him. I kind of went to bed right when I got home."

"It couldn't have been much past seven!"

"Yeah, it wasn't. I just couldn't…I was just really tired. Needed a good night's sleep, you know?"

"Sure." He wasn't sure how to continue. He wanted to talk about this and knew that she should talk about this. It wasn't good for her to keep everything bottled up and he wanted her to know that she could come to him for anything, even stuff about another guy. That's why he was relieved when she continued.

"He's pretty much finalized things with his brother. He told me this morning. He's going to leave tomorrow night with some things and then come back Saturday for the rest."

"That's good. Hopefully then it will be easier for you to move on."

"Well, I actually think that won't be much of a problem. After all, I have what a lot of people in my situation don't have. I have you."

He had never been so happy to hear three words in his life. He couldn't believe that this was actually going to happen. Sure, they had talked about it a couple of times over the past week, but he had never been able to tell himself that it would all work out. Finally, he felt that he could start to believe that everything would work out.


	4. Chapter 4

_Note: I still don't own anything._

_Sorry it's taken so long to update this story. Truth be told, I wasn't entirely sure where I was going with it. I actually wasn't all that certain when I started writing this but I think it turned out well. It's kind of short though. I'm thinking one more chapter after this. Please let me know what you think and as always, have a good rest of your week!_

That Saturday was beautiful. The sun was out, the temperature was perfect and even though Pam was sure it was her imagination, she could swear the birds were singing louder. To think it had only been a week since the whole thing had started. A week ago she had been engaged to a man her mom adored; a man she had thought she loved. That had been the problem though, hadn't it. She hadn't loved him. Sure, she probably had at one point but somewhere down the line, the love had faded and been replaced. She wasn't sure by what. She didn't think it was hate or even dislike. Friendship maybe? Nothingness was more likely.

In one week, her life had done a complete one-eighty. Now she was with (or was going to be with) a man that she knew she loved. She knew it was cliché, but she felt it with every fiber of her being. She wanted to tell everyone, scream it from the top of a mountain or at the very least a tall building. She wanted to make signs, maybe rent a billboard so that everyone knew about her feelings for Jim Halpert.

She couldn't do it, though. She couldn't tell anyone. Everyone would think she was moving too fast. They would call him a rebound guy and feel sorry for him for not seeing it. He wasn't though. Pam wasn't sure she believed in soulmates, but if they did exist, she was sure that Jim was hers. He was the salt to her pepper, the ying to her yang, the jelly to her peanut butter. They would blame him. They would think that he was the reason she broke off her engagement. While that was somewhat true (okay, maybe mostly true), there was more to it. She had needed to call off the wedding. She knew herself and had she gone through with it, that would have been the end. She could never have asked for a divorce; she would have spent her life convincing herself that that was marriage. A rut that you were stuck in with a person that you grew to resent.

True, had she not known Jim, she was almost certain she would have done it. Roy was a sure thing and Pam didn't like chance. Last Saturday had been it, though. After just that one afternoon alone with Jim she had known that she wouldn't spend her life with Roy. Not just that she wouldn't, she didn't think she could have.

Laying in bed, Pam tried to push these thoughts out of her head. She had been incredibly introspective the past few days and despite the lack of physical activity, it had been exhausting. Before Roy had found anything out, she had cried every night while in the shower because it had been her only time alone. Then, because she was stubborn, she had decided to stay with Roy. But then Jim had ruined everything. Well, not ruined everything so much as saved her. He had unintentionally turned her in to Roy. That had been a long talk. Tears had been spilled on both sides and neither one had gotten any sleep. Just thinking about it still made her eyes sting.

Jim had been such a good friend in the days that followed; more so than she had any right to expect. He hadn't been pushy in moving their relationship forward but had been a sincere friend.

Now Roy was gone. He had left the night before, soon after she had gotten home from work. Jim had known enough not to ask her out to dinner that night. He had known somehow that she would want to be there when he left. Again, tears had been shed as he loaded a few boxes into Kenny's truck and she had actually started sobbing as they hugged each other good-bye. He would be back later this afternoon for the rest of his stuff but she was more ready for it today. It would still be hard, that much was certain, but she had stayed awake most of the night thinking about how much better everything would be now. She would certainly have a better life and she knew that Roy would bounce back soon enough. He really was a good guy; he would find someone who was better suited for him. It wouldn't have been fair to either one of them if she had married him.

She had also spent a good part of the night thinking about Jim. She knew he was the one she was supposed to end up with. He was the only other person that seemed to really understand her. She didn't even think her mom knew her as well as he did. Or at least that's the way she wanted it to be eventually. She had been fretting over when they should make their relationship official. What others would think was of great concern to her but she didn't want to wait much longer. Yes, it was very soon after her failed engagement but when looked at in another light, it had been too long. When she had stopped to think about it, she had wanted Jim to be hers for months. Her engagement had just been an obstacle that had needed to be overcome.

Around five that morning she had made up her mind. No one else needed to know. She was ready.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi, guys. Sorry this took so long. End of the semester mayhem with exams and papers and all that. Then I get caught up reading other great stories and forget about my own. Anyway, thank you for your patience and the great reviews. They're the reason I keep coming back. This is the last chapter this story. However, as one of my lovely, lovely reviews suggested, I think I'll write another story with Jim and Pam as a couple. What do you guys think? Yay? Nay? Hope you guys enjoy this!_

"Hi, Jim. It's Pam."

"I know. Believe it or not, Beesley, I know your voice by now."

"Oh boy", she thought, "Not two seconds into the conversation and I'm already blushing. But just listen! You can almost hear the smile in his voice."

"Hello? You still there, Pam?"

"Huh? Oh! Sorry. I'm just kind of tired. Didn't sleep all that well last night."

"Yeah, I can hear that. You sound pretty wiped. Why are you up? It's Saturday; you can spend the day in bed if you want."

"No no. I'm fine. I was actually calling to see if you maybe wanted to do something today. It's nice out, we could go for a walk. Or out to eat. Or to the mall…"

He laughed, "Okay, I get it. Sleep bad, socializing good. Truth be told, I couldn't be happier. Ever since I woke up this morning, all I've wanted to do is see you."

Now she was sure she must look like a lobster. It was so weird hearing her best friend saying that he couldn't wait to see her. She didn't know how to respond to it. Roy hadn't spoken to her like that for as long as she could remember and it seemed like they had always been dating. There had been no transition period between friends and boyfriend/girlfriend. What was she supposed to say?

Luckily, he broke the silence while she was trying to think of a response. "So…you want me to pick you up in, like, half an hour?"

"Actually, Roy's stopping by in a little while to get the rest of his stuff."

"Okay, will you be free around three?"

"Sure!"

"Calm down, Pam," she told herself. "No reason to scare him off yet."

"I mean, that sounds good. See you then?"

He was chuckling on the other end of the line. "Okay, Pam. I'll see you then." With that, he hung up.

Roy arrived fourty-five minutes later in Kenny's truck. They awkwardly greeted each other and then Roy silently began loading up the rest of his stuff. Within an hour, he was done. He approached Pam, both with dry eyes this time, and she slowly moved from the corner she had been standing in, watching him.

"So, uh, I'm all packed and I guess I'm gonna take off."

Pam slowly nodded, her face expressionless as again, she struggled to keep her tears in. "Okay. Ummm, I guess I'll see you around work then?"

She could feel the tears coming closer and closer to the surface. "Why are you doing this, Pam? Come on! This is what you wanted! He should be the one that's a wreck, not you!" The self-berating did nothing to help, though, and finally, the tears escaped and silently ran down her cheeks.

Roy grinned slightly as he wiped the tears from her face. "Yes. We will see each other at work. Now listen, Pammy. This may sound strange, coming from the guy that you dumped, but things are going to be okay. I've been thinking, and you were right. This had to happen. The two of us never would have worked out. Now you've got Jim and don't worry about me. I will find someone. I promise, this is all for the best. Now come here."

The two embraced for what would probably be the last time. Roy gently placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her toward him as he kissed her forehead and then he was gone. Pam went to the window and waved to him as he left. It was amazing the effect his words had had on her. She no longer felt the guilt that had been plaguing her for the past week and she knew he was right. She had Jim and Roy _would _find someone.

She spent the next hour running around the apartment tidying things up in case Jim would want to come in. As she went from room to room, it struck her how empty the place looked with Roy's stuff gone. She forced herself to continue and tried not to think about it.

When Jim arrived a little while later, the place was spotless. She had reapplied the little makeup she wore after looking in a mirror and seeing that it was quite streaky from crying. She answered the door with a huge smile and was excited to see that he was also smiling.

"So, Beesley, what's on the agenda today?"

"Well, it is a great day outside. How about if we just walk. We can even walk around the neighborhood here if you want."

"Sounds good to me."

Pam quickly grabbed her keys and met him outside, locking her door. They began walking down the block, towards a group of children playing in the front of someone's house.

Jim was the one to break the silence that had begun forming, "So, Roy stopped by for the rest of his stuff?"

"Yep." She knew he was looking for more, but she wasn't sure what to say.

"Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath before answering his question, not sure how much to tell him. "Ummm, I'm not sure. I mean, yes, I am okay. It's just…we were together for so long. It's weird thinking that it's over. Really, though. I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm really, really good." As she said this last, she looked up at him and smiled.

"Pam, you don't have to pretend and act like everything is fine. It's okay if you're still in pain. In fact, it's normal. You have to remember, this whole thing, all of it, has happened in the span of a week. It may seem like a long time, I mean, Dwight can barely wait that long for the next episode of Battlestar Galactica, but it's only seven days. Seven measly days. You're going to need time to heal."

"That's just it, Jim. I don't. I mean, am I upset that it's over between me and Roy? Yes. But not really, because it had to happen. Even he said so. It never would have worked and I think that somewhere, in the back of my mind, I've been preparing for this for a long time. I am really, truly ready to move on."

They walked for a little while in silence. Jim wasn't sure what to say after what she said. Did she mean it? Was she saying she was ready for a new relationship? With him?

Pam was worried. Jim usually wasn't this quiet, especially around her. Had she said too much? Should she try starting a new conversation? Changing the subject? Should she just let him think?

Then his hand slowly found hers and his fingers entwined themselves through hers and she knew she had said the right thing. She looked back up at him, her face almost in pain from the huge smile that she didn't think would ever go away. He was smiling at her, too, looking pleased that she hadn't pulled her hand away.

Still in silence, they found a bench and sat down, hands still locked together.

"So, you say you're ready to move on. I want to believe you. You have no idea how much I just want to take your words at face value and start this, but I have to ask: Are you sure? I want this to be perfect and that means starting perfect."

Her answer was immediate, "Yes, I'm sure. I've never been more sure of anything. Jim, I've had a crush on you since I first met you," she blushed brightly at this confession, "and now it's moved far past that. You've been so great these past few days. If it doesn't work between the two of us, I'm destined to be alone."

"Well, I will do the best I can to ensure that doesn't happen. You know what this means, though, don't you? Us dating, I mean." A completely serious expression now occupied the space where his dazzling smile had been seconds before.

A confused look spread across her face, "I'm not sure what you're talking about…"

"It means no more fast food restaurants. I refuse to keep stifling my date-night creativity. Especially when I've got some great ones planned for us in the near future. If you want to keep sneaking around, pretending this isn't happening, that's up to you. Personally, I don't care what the others think. Just as long as I know that I have you."

She was relieved. As soon as he had gotten serious, she had been afraid of what he was going to say. She should have known that it was just some nonsense, she had seen that face countless times before. The only difference was that normally it was aimed at Dwight.

"Okay, it's a deal. No more fast food joints. I'd say we should shake on it, but I think we've kind of got that covered," she said, holding up their entwined hands. "As for whether or not to tell people, I'm not sure. I mean, I want to tell people more than anything, I'm just not sure what they would think."

"Does it matter what they think? I'm not trying to sway you in one way or another, I'm just asking."

She thought about it for a minute. "No. No it doesn't. I'm happy and you're happy and if they're really our friends, they should be happy for us, regardless of the circumstances."

"Okay. Well, we still don't have to tell people right away if you don't want to. Just give me a signal or something when you're ready and I'll be there."

They walked back to her apartment in silence, still holding hands.

"There is one person I want to tell right now."

"Really? Who's that?"

"I'd like to call my mom. I think she should know."

He smiled as the now-familiar lightness invaded his stomach. She wanted to tell her mom who meant more to her than anyone. She was serious about this whole thing.

Her mom's only response when Pam excitedly told her the news: "It's about time. I couldn't be happier for you, dear."


End file.
